Pine Forest Community School

In the early 1900s, Nassau County had several schools serving its African American communities in Bryceville, Callahan, Hilliard, Kent, Evergreen, Kings Ferry, Musselwhite, Nassauville, Yulee, and Fernandina. Peck High School, established in 1927, became the county’s first black high school. In the 1940s, Nassau County allocated nearly $725,000 for school improvements across the county.

A majority of funds went to white schools, but over $280,000 went to improve black schools deemed to be inadequate. The Nassau County School Board acquired land off Old Dixie Highway, west of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, from the Crooms family. Starting in 1951, the black schools in Hilliard, Bryceville, and Kings Ferry were consolidated with the black school in Callahan to form Pine Forest Community High School.

Construction of the new school’s campus was completed that same year. It operated for seventeen years, and served grades 1-12. When Nassau County public schools integrated in 1968, Pine Forest Community High School was converted into Callahan Middle School. Over time, nearly all of the original school buildings have been replaced.

The gymnasium, built in 1965, is the only remaining Pine Forest building.